Rafa verdict on Aquilani

Rafael Benitez was delighted by Alberto Aquilani's impact after the Italian made his Liverpool debut in the 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at Arsenal on Wednesday night.

The former Roma midfielder played the final 13 minutes at the Emirates and the Reds boss felt his appearance was one of many positives to be taken, despite seeing his side miss out on a place in the last eight.
 
"The worst thing today was the result, but there were a lot of positives with players showing passion, character and quality on the pitch. Aquilani was one of these players," he told his post-match press conference.
 
"He showed the ability he has. He needs to improve his match fitness, but you could see that he can pass the ball and can make a big difference in the final third.
 
"He is getting closer every day, but he needs games to improve his match fitness. It's a question of time.
 
"He will be an important player because he has quality. We want to push him, but we know we cannot push too hard. We need to keep working with him and try to get more minutes out of him in each game."
 
Aquilani almost capped an impressive cameo with an acrobatic effort in stoppage-time - a shot that appeared to hit an Arsenal hand.
 
Benitez felt Liverpool could have been awarded a spot-kick and revealed the Reds' new number 4 was adamant it should have been given.
 
"I didn't see the replay, but Aquilani told me it was (a penalty)," he said.
 
"The TV people told me it could have been given. You probably had a better view than me by watching the replay, but you cannot change the situation, you must just carry on.
 
"He was unlucky. When you play your first game with the first-team, it can make a big difference (to score) - both for him and us. If you start by doing something well, the fans support you more. It was a pity, but hopefully next time he will have more luck."
 
Quizzed about giving the Italian a potential starting berth at Fulham, Benitez replied, "No, it's too soon."
 
The Spaniard went into the fourth round clash having named nine changes to the side that defeated Manchester United at the weekend. But he insisted he had no alternative but to select a fresh group of players.
 
"It was impossible to play the same team," he said. "We had too many injuries and problems before and after the game. Torres was not ready, Gerrard still isn't ready and Johnson had a small problem.
 
"Anyway, these kinds of games are a chance for the rest of the players to show the character, the passion and the quality we are looking for.
 
"The mix of players that we had was the same as Arsenal. They had some senior players playing with younger ones. It was the same idea.
The difference is either the fitness or the little things."
 
Asked if the defeat would hit his side's confidence, the Reds boss said: "No I don't think so. We had chances and they did too. When you play with nine different players and they perform well, then you have to be pleased with them.
 
"It's always disappointing to be out of any competition. But at least we played well and we can take away a lot of positives. It is better than losing after playing badly."
 
The Reds now face Fulham on Saturday in the Barclays Premier League and Benitez admits he will have to assess the fitness of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard before deciding whether the duo will be involved.
 
"I think Torres could be okay," he said. "Gerrard is working with the physios so we will see.
 
"Today we had a few more problems, but these two players will need time. Hopefully Torres will be okay.
 
"Gerrard is maybe more difficult for Fulham."
 
The boss was also keen praise Emiliano Insua's first goal for the club.
 
"It was a great goal," he added. "Sometimes he tries these things in the training sessions and this is what he is capable of because he is a good, offensive full-back."